In A World Called Catastrophe
by Lauren Eliza
Summary: It's always been Lucas and Peyton, right? Maybe not. A wedding is planned, but the best laid plans often go astray, especially when tall, dark, handsome men are involved. LP BL JP NH romantic comedy.
1. Chapter 1

Countdown To Wedding: 7 Days

"Brooke, it's perfect. I knew your stuff was great, but this is just…perfect!" exclaimed Peyton. She was standing in the living room of the house she used to share with Brooke, being fitted for the gown she would wear on the happiest day of her life: the day she finally married Lucas Scott.

Brooke smiled and gave a little curtsey. "I know, it's fabulous, and you look fabulous in it, P. Sawyer!" she said. To see a great piece of work appreciated was one of the things Brooke enjoyed the most about her career as a designer. That, and the glitzy lifestyle, of course.

"Okay, now, you should probably hurry up, Millie's coming by to help me with last-minute decorating plans, and I want them to be a surprise for you," Brooke said.

"Alright, I trust you. But please, no feathers?" Peyton asked.

"I promise, no feathers."

"Alright, well, I should get going anyways, I wanted to go by the cemetery today."

As Peyton opened the door to leave, the person standing on the other side turned and smiled at her. From behind her, Brooke's jaw dropped as she realized who was standing there, before she knocked Peyton aside to give him a hug.

"It's so great to see you, Jake!" Brooke said.

"Hey, Brooke. You too," Jake replied.

Peyton was still silent, shocked at the appearance of the man she had loved so many years ago. Damn, he looked good, she thought to herself. Furious with herself for thinking that way a week before she was set to marry Lucas, she forced a smile and hugged Jake as well.

"This is definitely a surprise," she said.

"Yeah, well, Lucas invited me for the wedding, and I didn't want to just show up for one day. I figured I would come down early, get a chance to visit my parents, and catch up with everyone else," Jake said.

Noticing the tension between them, Brooke pushed Peyton out the door and closed it behind her.

"She was just on her way out," she said to Jake with a fake smile. 'But you're welcome to stay anyways!"

"She didn't exactly look happy to see me," Jake said.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's pre-wedding nerves? Or maybe she's just confused because she's finally about to marry this guy she's been pining over for ages and then the only other guy who's ever gotten that kind of response from her shows up and all of a sudden she doesn't know how to feel anymore?"

"I didn't want to cause any trouble, I only came because Lucas invited me! I didn't even think about it that way until I saw Peyton in the doorway. God, I've missed her," Jake said sadly.

"Well, well," said Brooke. "This could just make for an even more interesting Scott wedding than all the others!"

Peyton is at the cemetery, in front of her mother's grave. Though she came here looking for peace, her face reflected an inner conflict she hardly wanted to admit to having. At the sound of a twig snapping behind her, she turned around to see her alter-ego, that pesky manifestation of her conscience in the form of the Angel of Death.

"Oh, no. Not you again! What is it this time, you're going to insult me about my wedding dress or something, right?" she asked.

"No, actually, I'm going to interrogate you about your feelings about Lucas and the wedding and oh yeah, JAKE!" the Angel replied.

Peyton rolled her eyes, but as she had learned the last time, there was no getting rid of her conscience until she admitted the problem.

"Okay, so, seeing Jake again gave me a few butterflies in my stomach. What's the problem? Being engaged doesn't mean that I don't have eyes. He looks good. Really, really good…arrrrgh!"

"Exactly. Now let's see, how long has it been since you've gotten butterflies when you look at Lucas?" the Angel asked nastily.

"That is so not fair! I see Lucas almost every day, Jake was a total surprise!"

"Yeah, well, life's not fair, Little Miss Almost Married. And you'd better deal with those butterflies before you become Little Mrs. Scott. I think I've bothered you enough for one day, but don't miss me too much, I'll be back!"

The Angel of Death strolled away casually, looking back to stick her tongue out at Peyton, who flipped her the finger before storming away herself.

Back at Brooke's house, she and Jake were enjoying a nice chat about her hectic lifestyle as a high-profile designer.

"Enough about me, tell me about your life, Jake," Brooke said. "How's Jenny? Is she with you?"

"No, she's in Savannah with her grand-parents. Nikki's parent," Jake said.

"And Nikki?"

"I haven't heard from Nikki in three years. She was doing really well, being good with Jenny and everything, but then she just disappeared one day and we haven't been able to track her down."

"People always leave…" Brooke said softly.

"I don't even like to think about what those words meant for Peyton and I," Jake said.

"It's going to be tough, watching her marry Lucas, isn't it?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, it will. I didn't think it would until I saw her again. But what about you? It won't be hard to watch Lucas marrying Peyton? I know you loved him, Brooke."

Brooke was quiet for a minute, but as she looked at Jake sitting beside her and remembered everything she knew about him, everything Peyton had gushed about, she knew that this was one person who she could confide in.

"It will be hard. I'm glad that they're finally going to be happy, because they both deserve it, but I still can't help wishing that Lucas could be happy with me instead, and Peyton with…somebody else."

"Somebody like me?" Jake said laughingly.

Brooke laughed, but stopped suddenly. A light in her eyes went on, a mischievous look that Jake remembered all too well from their high-school days.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"That we're not too old to play a little game of match-maker/ chaos creating?"

"Exactly. But only if it'll work out perfectly. It's not worth ruining their lives over, but it could be worth making them better."

"Would they ever forgive us?"

"I think they would. We just have to be very, very careful." Jake said.

"Good. Then, Mr. Jagielski, we have work to do." Brooke answered.

The front door slammed as Peyton walked back into the house.

"Good luck!" Brooke whispered as she snuck away upstairs.

Peyton walked into the living room and looked at Jake with a puzzled expression on her face, wondering where Brooke was. Sensing what was on her mind, he answered her unasked question.

"Brooke ended up going over to see somebody named Millicent about decorations," he said.

"Oh," said Peyton.

"Look, Peyton, you don't exactly seem happy to see me. If you have a problem with me being here or coming to your wedding, just let me know."

"Oh no, that's not it at all," Peyton said, but her tone was unconvincing.

"Well, then, we should talk."

"About anything in particular?" Peyton asked.

"Mostly about us," Jake replied.

With a small smile, Jake watched as Peyton's face revealed what those words made her think of: the first time they had kissed, after he told her how much he had thought about being with her. A coincidental echo? Not in the slightest. Brooke Davis was a master of the art of match-making and manipulation, but Jake was a master of Peyton's heart. With those words and the look the provoked from Peyton, he knew he still was. And somewhere in his mind, he was giving himself a high-five.

"So, where's Jenny?" Peyton asked in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject.

"She's with her grand-parents in Savannah. Nikki's been gone for a few years, I've got sole custody now, but they got so used to having her around, and as much as I love her, I know she's in good hands with them. Plus, I wanted a bit of a vacation. Time to be young," Jake said.

"Well that's good," Peyton said somewhat awkwardly.

The phone rang, giving Peyton an excuse to dive away from Jake and the way he was making her feel.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Luke! Umn, my day's been pretty good…well, yeah a bit of a surprise, Jake's here! No…no. You're right. Maybe we should talk about this. Okay, I'll meet you there."

"Listen, I gotta go see Lucas, last-minute kinks to work out with the priest," Peyton said.

"No problem, I was thinking about heading over to my parents' place anyways. But I'll see you again before the big day. There's still some talking to be done," Jake said.

Driving over to meet Lucas at the River Court, Peyton thought about what had just happened between her and Jake. Was it natural for a girl to still have such strong feelings about a high-school boyfriend? Well, it seemed that it was for her, at least. Look at herself and Lucas, she thought. Maybe I'm just incapable of getting over somebody. Great basis for a relationship, hmn? Suck it up, Sawyer, she told herself. Let's just see what Lucas wants to talk about.

"Hey, Peyton. Sorry to be so demanding," Lucas said as he greeted her with a quick kiss.

"No problem. So what's up?" Peyton asked as they sat down at the edge of the court, looking out at her painting which still covered the entire surface.

"I meant to tell you that I had invited Jake, but I kinda wanted it to be a surprise. I didn't know he would come so early, or that he would go see you straight away. Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, Luke, I was happy to see him!" Peyton said.

"Maybe a little bit too happy," the Angel of Death said.

Cursing silently, Peyton noticed her obnoxious conscience perched on the basketball hoop, clearly enjoying herself and in no hurry to leave.

"Peyton? You look kinda distracted," Lucas said. "Are you worried about the wedding?"

"No, it's not that," Peyton said.

"Well then, what is it? You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Okay, well, this is going to sound crazy, but you remember back in senior year, when I was dealing with that whole Ellie situation? I kinda started seeing this vision, of me dressed as The Angel of Death, who was sorta my sub-conscience, and a major bitch too."

"And why are you thinking about that now?" Lucas asked.

"Because she's back. Today. Earlier, at the cemetery, and again now. She's driving me crazy."

"You're probably just stressed about the wedding. Just like you were confused about Ellie back then. Here, let me help."

As Lucas moved to hold her closer and massage her back, Peyton drew away.

"Okay, what now?" he asked, sounding far more angry than befitted the situation.

"I'm not crazy, okay? And why would I be worried about the wedding? What is there to worry about?"

"I don't know! Anything! Maybe you're having second thoughts!" Lucas said.

"Maybe I will be if you keep bugging me like this. How do I know you're not the one having second thoughts, since it was you who first mentioned it?" Peyton exclaimed.

They sat glaring at each for a few minutes before Lucas got up and walked away angrily. Seriously? Peyton thought to herself. So much for second thoughts. Try third and fourth. When did everything start to go so wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Brooke was sketching in her living room when there was a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be, as she wasn't expecting any visitors, she opened the door to see Lucas.\

"Hey, Luke. Come on in," she said.

"Hi, Brooke. Listen, I really need to talk to Peyton," Lucas said.

"Oh, sorry, she's not here. She's been in and out all day, came home in a really pissy mood, grabbed her leather jacket and took off again. Haven't heard from her since. What'd you do, tell her she looked bad in her wedding dress? No, that's impossible, I designed it."

"No, not quite. We just got into a bit of a fight earlier, and I wanted to talk about it now that we've both hopefully calmed down."

"Well, why don't you talk to me about it, and I'll tell you what parts to leave out when you say it to her, kay?" Brooke said.

They moved back into the living room, but while Brooke relaxed on the couch, Lucas paced around the room, clearly upset.

"So we were talking about how I invited Jake to the wedding, and then she suddenly started talking about having this vision? Of her conscience as an angel or something?" Lucas said.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard that one. It sounds about right for her, doesn't it?" Brooke said.

"You don't think she sounds crazy talking about that?"

"No, not really, not any crazier than Nathan seeing Keith when their car crashed in the river that time," replied Brooke.

"So then I said something about her having second thoughts, and she accused me of having second thoughts, and I walked away. I shouldn't have walked away, but I didn't want to admit…that I am." Lucas said.

Sensing the change in mood, Brooke made room for Lucas on the couch, and he sat down with a sigh.

"What do you mean, second thoughts? This is how it's supposed to be, isn't it? Lucas and Peyton?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know. That's how it was supposed to be. But after we fought this afternoon, I realized that we've hardly talked in the past months. The whole time I was with Lindsey, and before that even. We haven't really been friends, even. And now we're getting married?"

"But everybody could tell that you both still loved each other," Brooke said.

"I know, but what if that was because they hadn't been around us in awhile either? We were acting like everything was exactly the same when it wasn't, not at all," said Lucas.

"So what are you saying? That you don't love Peyton anymore?" Brooke asked.

"Maybe. I'll always love who she was, and who we were together, and maybe I'll love her again, but right now…I'm not in love with Peyton," Lucas said unhappily.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Brooke said.

"Thanks, Brooke. Thanks for listening. I've missed this."

"Missed what?"

"Us."

As they looked at each other for a few quiet minutes, Lucas pulled Brooke closer and they cuddled on the couch, reflecting on the enormity of what had just been said. For Lucas, it was an admission that he could never take back. For Brooke, it was the chance she had been waiting for to make a move forward.

The music was pounding at Tric as usual, but Peyton wasn't enjoying the local band as much as she normally would have. That night was one of her first attempts at a battle of the bands competition, and the turn-out was even better than she had expected. But she couldn't enjoy the success of it with the usual thrill of pride and joy. Her fight with Lucas had soured her day, but in a strange way. It wasn't so much that she had fought with her fiancé, but more what they had fought about that was disturbing her.

"Peyton?" she heard someone ask.

"Oh, hey, Haley!" Peyton said. "I didn't even see you there, sorry."

"That's alright, this is awesome, by the way. I'm so glad to see the turn-out, Nathan and I are having a great time," Haley said.

"Nathan's here too? What'd you do with Jamie?" Peyton asked.

"Oh, he's at your place, actually, with Brooke. She's been really glad to have him around, especially now that Angie's gone," said Haley.

Peyton and Haley sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the music. Haley's conversation had distracted Peyton from her earlier thoughts, and she was finally able to relax and just appreciate the music. Until she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Haley's surprised exclamation.

"Jake?"

"Hey, Haley!" Jake said.

As the two hugged and began asking a few questions about each other's lives, Peyton drew a deep breath. She knew she would have to face Jake eventually, about all the things they had still left unsaid. As perceptive as always, Haley gave Peyton a quick hug, muttered something about needing to find Nathan, and ducked away into the crowd, leaving her alone with Jake. For a minute, Peyton considered running away as well, but she knew it wasn't worth it. And with the way Jake was looking at her, she didn't think he would let her get away that easily.

"Peyton, we really do need to talk," he said.

"I know. But can it wait another twenty minutes? I'm really digging this band," Peyton said.

Though he couldn't quite tell if she was serious or just attempting to buy time, Jake nodded and slid closer to Peyton in the crowd. Before long both were focused on the music, so much so that Peyton hardly noticed when Jake slid his arm around her waist and held her close to him, all without even looking at her. Maybe it was the way his arm felt so natural and so right around her, or maybe it was the few drinks she'd had earlier, but Peyton didn't say anything, just snuggled in slightly closer and kept listening to the band play.

From the bar, Haley had been sneaking glances over at Peyton and Jake, and noticed immediately when he put his arm around her. Almost choking on her drink, she poked Nathan on the shoulder and pointed their way.

"Isn't that Peyton?" he asked. "But who's the guy?"

"It's Jake," Haley said.

"Jagielski? What's he doing here?"

"I think he's here for the wedding. But right now, it just looks like he's here for Peyton," said Haley.

"This could be bad. Those two were crazy about each other, and it doesn't exactly look like that's going away any time soon," Nathan said, his concern evident in his voice.

"I know. But I can't do anything about it. I just want Peyton to be happy, but if that's going to cost Lucas his happiness, I would have to put him first," Haley said sadly.

"Well, we don't know anything for sure yet. Let's just keep our eyes on them, and we'll see how it goes," Nathan said.

"Oooh, playing spy, are we?"

"You bet."

When the band finished their encore and left the stage, Peyton took a deep breath and turned to face Jake. As the house lights came on, they stared at each other for a few seconds before Peyton spoke.

"My office is just around the back here," she said. "We can talk there a little more comfortably."

"Sounds good," Jake said.

As Jake and Peyton walked away towards the office, Nathan and Haley were busy retrieving their jackets from the coat check. When they turned back to scan the room, there was no sign of the others.

"Damnit, how did we lose them?" asked Nathan.

"I don't know!" said Haley.

"Alright, well, maybe we should tell Lucas that they were here together," Nathan said.

"I don't know. I don't want to say anything until it's worth saying anything, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. We should go get Jamie."

"Oh, I'm sure Brooke won't mind watching him a little longer. How about a stroll along the river first?"

"Sounds perfect."

In her office, Peyton was watching nervously as Jake examined the posters on the walls and the demos scattered all around the room. Finally he turned to her with a smile on his face, sat down, and, and began the dreaded conversation.

"This place looks great, Peyton. It's very you," he said.

"Thanks. But I know you're not here to discuss my office," Peyton replied.

"You're right. So, here goes, I guess. I know I haven't kept in touch, but it's the same as I said the last time we had to end things. I couldn't hear your voice and know you were with Lucas when I needed to focus all my energy into getting Jenny back."

"But you're okay with being here to watch me marry him?" Peyton asked sarcastically.

Jake smiled at her tone. "I thought I could make another sacrifice for your happiness, and it had been so long since we'd seen each other or spoken, and I figured I owed it to Lucas as well. But as soon as I saw you, it was like no time had passed, and we were still on my porch in Savannah and considering getting married ourselves."

"Jake…" Peyton said.

"It's alright. But I think I know you pretty well, even after all this time, and it wasn't just on my part that it felt like no time had passed. I saw the same look on your face earlier today as I did back then. Don't you owe both of us the truth?" Jake said.

Peyton looked at him for a few more moments, then stood up and paced around the room as he watched, waiting patiently, with no sign of anxiety.

"You do know me too well," Peyton said with a little laugh. "When I saw you standing there, I could have just thrown myself right into your arms and felt more at home than I have in years. But I couldn't, and didn't, because of Lucas."

"Do you still love him?" Jake asked quietly.

"I don't know anymore. Loving him has become such a habit that I wonder what would happen if I just stopped. Or if I let myself love someone more."

"Someone like me?" Jake said, only slightly teasing.

"Someone just like you," Peyton said seriously.

"I think we need to talk to Lucas," said Jake.

"You're right. It's wrong of me to keep this from him. He deserves to know how I'm feeling, and in some ways, it's a relief. Then if he wants to ditch me, the pressure's off, and I've got a great back-up!" Peyton laughed.

"Back-up?" Jake asked indignantly.

Still laughing, the two exited Tric and got into the Comet, speeding back towards Brooke and Peyton's house, and the uncertain conversation they would have to have with Lucas. But together, they had enough confidence to face him.


	3. Chapter 3

Countdown to Wedding: Five Days

Jake and Peyton pulled up in front of Lucas' house and shut off the engine. They looked at each for a minute, and then Peyton began shaking with silent laughter.

"What's so funny?" Jake asked.

"This whole thing. I cried my heart out over you, then there was Lucas, then I cried my heart out of over him, and here we are, about to tell him that I don't want to marry him anymore. And you're my back-up!"

"That is so not funny," Jake said, but he was laughing too.

"I don't even know what to say to him," Peyton said, suddenly serious.

"Hey, look at me," Jake said softly. "It's going to be okay. You and Lucas have always understood each other."

"I know. I'm just a little bit scared," Peyton admitted.

Jake stared into her beautiful green eyes for a moment and knew that coming back here had been the right choice. He was never going to let go of her again, but first she had to let go of Lucas. And he knew how to get that process started. He leaned forward and kissed Peyton with all the passion of their long years apart, and wasn't surprised when she responded just as enthusiastically. When they drew apart, Peyton smiled and opened her door.

"I think I'm brave enough now," she said.

"Good," Jake replied.

"I also think I won't be getting kissed like that again until we do this, so let's get it over with and neck in the backseat, okay?"

Laughing at her once again, Jake took her by the hand and led her towards the house. They knocked briefly before walking in, as the gang had always done, completely comfortable entering each other's houses with little announcement. Maybe this time they should have been a little bit more cautious. Brooke and Lucas were stretched out on his bed, kissing hungrily and desperately.

Peyton couldn't help herself. She laughed again. She had been laughing a lot ever since Jake had turned up, and this only added to her merriment. _Again?_ she thought to herself. _What is this, junior year?_

At the sound, Brooke jumped off of Lucas so quickly that he sat up as well, taking in the two people standing over his bed with amused looks on their faces.

"Peyton," Brooke said hesitantly. "I...I just...dropped Jamie off at home, and then stopped by...to...," her voice trailed off in face of Peyton's laughter. "Peyton?" she asked uncertainly.

"It's okay, Brooke. Really, it's okay," the blonde said."Jake and I came by to talk to Lucas but maybe it's better that you're here too, especially after what we just saw."

Brooke and Lucas exchanged confused looks as Peyton and Jake continued to grin like idiots.

"Hey, Jake," Lucas said tentatively, trying to make sense of the situation. "Umn, what is it you guys wanted to talk to me about?"

"I think we should all go into the living room, get something to drink, and then talk," Jake said.

"I sure could use a drink!" Brooke exclaimed and bounded off towards the kitchen, the other three following more slowly. Lucas kept sneaking glances at Peyton, such shame and confusion on his face that she wanted to pet him like a puppy to let him know that it was all alright. She reached out and squeezed his hand gently instead, but allowed Jake to take hold of her free hand. Lucas noticed and immediately drew away, choosing a seat beside Brooke and across from his fiancée.

"Okay, what is going on here?" Brooke asked.

Peyton took a deep breath and looked towards Jake before beginning her story.

"Lucas," she said. "I love you. You have to know that. But in the past few days, I've come to realize something even more important than that. I'm not in love with you. I'm sorry."

Lucas looked shocked, but slowly a look of relief crept over his face.

"I'm sorry too," he said. "I admitted the same thing to Brooke tonight. I will always love you, Peyton Sawyer, but I'm just not in love with you either."

Brooke and Jake looked at each other from across the room and smiled. No one but they would have been able to tell that things weren't as perfect as they seemed between Lucas and Peyton. Jake and Brooke knew them better than most, and they had seen the flaws in them. Of course, it worked out to their advantage, but they told themselves that it was for Lucas and Peyton's happiness as well.

"So what does this mean?" Jake asked.

"I can't marry you," Peyton said.

"I don't..." Lucas said, but then stopped. "It wouldn't be right," he agreed.

"But the dress!" Brooke wailed.

The other three turned to look at her in surprise.

"Sorry," she said. "But I spent so long on the perfect -soon-to-be-Scott wedding dress and what am I supposed to do with it now?"

"Sell it?" Lucas suggested.

"No!" Brooke and Peyton exclaimed in unison, then burst into a fit of giggles at their coordinated response.

"I'll wear it someday, I promise," Peyton said. Jake smiled at her words, wondering if her use of "someday" had been intentional. It had always been their phrase, their hope, their promise to each other.

"We're supposed to be getting married in five days," Lucas said. "What do we tell everyone? What do we do?"

"Finish our drinks," Jake said with a smile. "Reminisce. Talk about exactly what Peyton and I interrupted when we walked in."

"Oh, God," Brooke said, hiding her face in her sleeve. "We just got a little bit.."

"Carried away," Lucas finished her sentence for her.

"Wanna know a secret?" Peyton asked with a grin. "Jake and I totally made out in the car before coming in here. I don't think any of us are allowed to be mad at each other."

"Definitely not," Lucas agreed.

The two blonds and two brunettes looked at each other, then simultaneously raised their glasses in a silent toast to each other.

"Oh no," Brooke said suddenly. "What are we going to tell Nathan and Haley?"


	4. Chapter 4

Countdown to Wedding: ???

A few hours later, Peyton stood up shakily, a little unsteady after having several drinks. Jake and Lucas both immediately stood up to help her and swayed slightly themselves, while Brooke got up more slowly and laughed at the other three.

"Oh no , who to pick? The broody blond or tall, dark, and handsome?" she joked.

"Seeing as I just told broody blond I won't be marrying him, I think I'll have to go dark," Peyton said.

"But for old times' sakes..." Lucas said teasingly and pulled Peyton towards him as Jake stepped forward in a mock-threatening manner. Peyton collapsed with laughter at their antics and had to be helped up again by Brooke.

"We should head home," Brooke said.

"You can't drive, either of you, and neither can we," Jake pointed out.

"We'll walk," Peyton said. "We need some girl talk anyways."

"Call Haley," Lucas suggested. "You know she'll be mad if she gets left out."

"But she'll also be mad if we wake her up at three in the morning," said Brooke.

"I'm calling Nate anyways," Lucas said as he picked up his phone. "Maybe we need man-talk as well."

"Okay," Peyton said. "Let's go on a road trip, B. Davis!"

"Hey, Nate," Lucas said into the phone. "Don't yell, my head hurts. Yeah, I'm sure yours does too. Get Hales to come pick Brooke and Peyton up at my place. Oh, yeah, Jamie. Okay. Okay. Bye."

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"Haley is going to come pick us all up, drop you and I off at her place, then go back with the girls. That way Jamie isn't alone, and none of us need to walk or drive anywhere."

"We have such great friends," Brooke said thoughtfully.

"We really do," Peyton agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, Haley walked in to see four of her closest friends all cuddled on Lucas' small couch and several empty liquor bottles surrounding them.

"How come you didn't call me earlier?" she joked.

"You have a kid and therefore aren't fun anymore," Peyton replied.

"Remind me again why I'm driving you home?" Haley asked.

"Because you're a mom, and you look after people!" Brooke chimed in.

With a fond but exasperated sigh, Haley prompted her friends into her SUV and pulled off. After dropping the boys off at her house, she started down towards the beach where Brooke and Peyton had their house.

"Okay, what is going on?" she asked as soon as the boys were gone. "You woke me up at three AM, I deserve to know!"

Peyton and Brooke looked at each for a minute and then Brooke nudged Peyton with her arm, indicating that she should begin.

"Well, I guess I'll get this over with," she said. "Lucas and I called off the wedding."

Haley slammed on the brakes, sending all three pitching forward despite their seatbelts.

"Haley!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, I must not have heard that right," Haley said. "You and Lucas aren't getting married?"

"We both realized tonight that we're not in love with each other anymore," Peyton said.

"Uh-huh. And did Jake's reappearance have anything to do with this?" Haley asked.

"Maybe. Probably. I don't know!" Peyton said.

"Okay, so where does Brooke fit into this?" Haley asked. "Brooke?"

"Umn. I was hanging out with Lucas, and then we started talking, and then we..started...kissing," she said.

Haley was better prepared for something startling this time, but the car still swerve slightly, making her passengers yelp again.

"Brooke Penelope Davis!" she said.

"Such a mom," Peyton whispered to Brooke.

"Hey!" Haley said. "And yet you and Peyton are still talking to each other?"

"I'm not mad," Peyton said. "I don't have any right to be mad, firstly because it's not like I haven't done the same, and secondly because as I said, I'm not in love with Lucas anymore. I can't blame either of them, they're both totally hot," she said laughingly.

"And you were too blissed out from kissing Jagielski!" Brooke pointed out.

"You didn't!" said Haley.

"I did," Peyton said. "It was great."

All three girls burst out laughing at the satisfaction in Peyton's voice as Haley pulled the car into their driveway. Making their way into the house, Haley continued to question her two best friends about the events of the night, still perplexed as to how so much had changed so quickly, and yet how well Brooke and Peyton were dealing with things.

Meanwhile, Jake and Lucas had settled into the living room at Nathan and Haley's house and were preparing to tell their sides of the story.

"I only found out you were here tonight, Jake, and already you're causing trouble!" Nathan joked.

"You don't know the half of it," Jake replied with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

Lucas took a deep breath and brought things right out into the open.

"Peyton and I called off the wedding," he said.

Nathan gaped at him for a few seconds, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, confusion on every inch of his face.

"But, you and Peyton, you..." he said. "It's you and Peyton!"

"I know," Lucas said. "But we're not the same Lucas and Peyton anymore. It's probably my fault. I let her get away and by the time I smartened up enough to get her back, we had both changed too much. I still love her, I always will, but we're just not in love anymore. And so, the wedding's off."

"But I already had my speech ready!" Nathan protested.

"Sorry, bro," Lucas said.

"Okay, so what does Jake have to do with this?" Nathan asked.

"I'm kinda trying to make Peyton fall in love with me instead," Jake said.

"And Jake and Peyton kinda walked in on me making out with Brooke," Lucas added.

"You little man-sluts!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Oh come on, you know you're just jealous," Lucas teased.

"Remind me again which of us is happily married and which of us just lost a fiancée?" Nathan said.

"Touché," Lucas said. "But I did get to kiss Brooke."

"So it's back to the blonde vs. the brunette, is it?" Nathan asked.

"In more ways than one," Lucas said. "Peyton's doing it herself, letting go of me and going to kiss Jake instead."

"You four are insane," Nathan said, shaking his head back and forth slowly. "How are Brooke and Peyton taking it? Clawing each other's eyes out?"

"Not at all," Jake said. "Somewhat surprisingly, they both seem very chill about the whole thing."

Lucas and Jake exchanged a high five while Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Okay, well if you're all happy, can we watch the game now?" he asked.

His two former teammates immediately headed for the kitchen to load up on snacks, and the boys sat down to comment on the basketball game and reminisce about their own playing days.

So much for man-talk.

Not that things were too different over at Brooke and Peyton's. After going over the details a few times more, accompanied by a great deal of giggling, the girls had turned on the stereo and were currently dancing to one of the rare albums that Peyton and Brooke could agree on, the new Lady Gaga. As they danced, the speakers boomed, and the girls danced the night away. It was just as therapeutic as talking, they agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The next morning, Haley woke up around nine, despite not having gone to sleep until around five. Looking around the living room, she located Brooke and Peyton cuddled up together on the other sofa, both sleeping with their mouths wide open and snoring slightly. With a grin on her face, Haley immediately snapped a photo of them on her phone, but having forgotten to turn down the volume, the noise woke the other two girls up.

"Whassgoingon?" Brooke asked groggily.

"More sleep," Peyton mumbled.

"Get up, lazy one and lazy two!" Haley said cheerfully. "We've got a big day ahead of us."

"We do?" Peyton asked in confusion.

"Of course we do. I have a son and husband to get home to, and you two have weird boy relationships to sort out. And call me about with updates every five minutes or so."

Peyton grumbled and turned her face away from Haley, who promptly grabbed a pillow and started whacking her two best friends it. They both screeched and got up, shooting death glares in Haley's direction as they did.

Meanwhile, Lucas was being shaken awake by a bright-eyed Jamie, who looked puzzled to see his uncle sleeping on the couch.

"Hi Uncle Lucas," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Jamie," Lucas said. "We had a bit of a guys' night last night."

"Why wasn't I invited?" Jamie asked.

"Because it was late, and you were in bed," Nathan replied as he came out of the kitchen with glasses of orange juice and toast on a tray.

"Who's that?" Jamie whispered to Lucas, pointing to Jake, who had just sat up from his position on the floor.

"That's our old friend Jake," Lucas said.

"Hey, Jamie," Jake said as he came towards them, sticking out a hand for him to shake. "I used to play for the Ravens with your dad and uncle."

"Cool!" Jamie exclaimed. "So you won State too?"

"Not quite," Jake said. "I had to go away for awhile and missed out on that."

"Oh," said Jamie, clearly puzzled.

"Don't worry about it, son," Nathan said. "Eat your breakfast."

"Good advice," Jake said.

"Knock knock!" Haley said as she came in the front door.

"Momma!" Jamie exclaimed, running towards her. "They had a guys' night without me!"

"I'm sorry, Jimmy-Jam," Haley said. "I had a girls' night too. But you wouldn't want to be invited to that anyways."

"Yeah, yuck," Jamie said.

"I should probably head out," Lucas said, looking at his watch. "I feel like conversations from last night may need to be held again."

"I think so too," Jake agreed. "Nice meeting you, Jamie."

"Bye Uncle Lucas! Bye Jake! Make sure you invite me next time!" Jamie said.

"Call us later," Nathan said, giving the other two guys a significant look.

Jake and Lucas promised to do just that, then headed off towards Lucas' house.

"You should just stay here with me," Lucas offered. "Peyton's staying at Brooke's now, so we might as well camp out here."

"Thanks, man," Jake replied. "That'd be great."

"Up for a game?" Lucas asked.

"Of course!" Jake exclaimed.

They made their way to Lucas' house and changed into basketball gear, then headed over to the River Court to play some one-on-one.

Peyton was tidying up the living room while Brooke made them both some breakfast, with Peyton occasionally calling out advice on what to make. When they were ready, they took their plates out to the porch to enjoy their food and the beautiful day.

"You don't find it strange at all, Peyton?" Brooke asked.

"What?" Peyton said.

"Me, and Lucas. You and Jake. You and not Lucas," said Brooke.

"Of course it's strange!" Peyton exclaimed. "These have been some of the craziest days of my life, and my life has known a whole lot of crazy. But it still feels right, you know?"

"Yeah, it does," Brooke replied. "And you're sure you're not mad?"

"Yeah, honey, I'm sure," Peyton said. "I would have married Lucas. It would have been great for awhile. But sooner or later we would wake up and realize it wasn't meant to be. And we both deserve better than that."

"You do," Brooke agreed.

"And so do you," said Peyton. "And if you and Lucas can find your way back to each other now, and you can be happy together, I will be 100% happy for both of you. Honestly."

"Good," Brooke said. "Because I don't want to get tackled by you again. Or have one of my Clothes Over Bro's original pieces desecrated with nasty words."

"Oh, God," said Peyton. "I can't believe I did that to your gorgeous dress!"

"I couldn't either," Brooke said, collapsing into laughter. "But then when all that was left was "Ho", it made me remember something: Hoes Over Bros. And that's why I went to look for you."

"Hoes Over Bros for life," Peyton joked. "Even now."

"So what's the deal with Jake?" Brooke asked curiously. "You haven't seen him in years, and all of a sudden he's here and you're back into goofy grin queen mode!"

"I don't know," Peyton said. "When I left Savannah, I thought it was because he didn't love me, but he did. He loved me enough to let me go back to Lucas. And I'm glad he did, because I learned a lot from that. But now he's here...and still a fox," she laughed.

"He definitely is," Brooke said appreciatively. "But don't worry, I was never into him!" she said quickly.

"I'm not worried," Peyton said calmly. "I'm not worried about any of it. We're all going to be just fine, as long as we don't do anything else to make Haley crash the car with us in it!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm sure some of you are reading for BL and others for JP, so here's fair warning that this is going to be a completely JP chapter, but the next one will be completely BL, I think it's fair! Please leave a review, it gets more people reading and I really appreciate it. Cheers!**

Peyton left Brooke's house, determined to actually get to the office and get some work done. She arrived at Tric and groaned at the sight of the mountain of paperwork she had accumulated over the past few days.

"This calls for something upbeat," she thought to herself as she examined her rows of CDs to find the perfect thing to get her through her day. Picking an album, she turned the volume on her stereo up even louder than usual, took a deep breath, and began her work.

Two hours passed, and Peyton was only about a third of the way through her work. She preferred to measure time by the number of albums she had listened to, which was currently two and a half. She told herself she would finish this one before taking a break, but in the style of the past few days, fate intervened in the form of Jake Jagielski.

He walked into her office and stood watching her for a few moments before she realized that he was there. When she did notice him, a smile lit up her face immediately, and Jake smiled in return. He could tell that she was happy to see him, and that made him feel better than almost anything else in the world. Walking over to her, he dropped a kiss on her blonde curls.

"Hey," he said. "Working hard?"

"Trying to catch up on everything you've distracted me from lately," Peyton replied.

"Sorry," he said, and while he sound sincere, his goofy grin contradicted his words. "Should I leave?"

"No," she replied. "Don't go."

"Now or ever?" he joked, but immediately realized that such a question could never be taken as anything other than serious. She just stared at him with those emerald eyes, and he knew that she was trying to figure out what had prompted his response.

"Are you thinking of staying?" she asked cautiously.

"I think that depends on you," he said honestly, grabbing one of the chairs from in front of her desk and bringing it around so that he could sit next to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Look, Peyton," he sighed, "These past few days have been absolutely insane. I haven't seen you in years, god you were engaged to Lucas, but all of a sudden I'm here contemplating sticking around this place just so I can be around you."

"I could leave instead," Peyton said, holding his gaze.

"No," he said flatly. "This is your home."

"And Savannah isn't yours?"

"Not in the same way. It never was, never really will be. It's where Jenny is, and that's what matters."

He didn't miss the way her face lit up at the mention of Jenny. She was thrilled at the thought of the baby girl she had known being all grown up now.

"Do you have a picture of her, by the way?" Peyton asked excitedly. "I can't believe I didn't ask until now..."

"Of course," Jake said, and drew a small photo out of his wallet. Jenny's hair had darkened from the blonde fluff she'd had as a toddler and her eyes were dark as well, and she looked to be growing into a perfect combination of Jake and Nikki.

"She's so beautiful," Peyton whispered.

"I know she'd like to see you again," Jake said.

"She remembers me?"

"I told her all about you," Jake smiled. "It's her favourite bed time story. She loves the picture you sketched of her as a baby. It's in our living room in Savannah."

"You still have that?" Peyton asked in surprise.

"Peyton, I don't think you understand how much I never stopped loving you," Jake said, reaching for her hands. "I wanted you to be sure. That's why I sent you back to Lucas. You know the old saying. So you didn't come back to me right away, and every day was harder than the last, but I never gave up hope. Then the invitation to your wedding arrived, and at first I was crushed. It was so final. But then I thought about how happy you would be, and I knew it was worth my pain. Fortunately, it turned out okay," he concluded, holding her hands tightly in his.

Peyton could only stare at him. What had she done to make this incredible man love her so much after all this?

"I'm sorry," she blurted out.

"Why?" he asked in amusement. "For being happy?"

"For leaving that day, for not coming back to you, for making Jenny believe in a fairy tale that could easily never have come true, god, for everything!"

"It's okay," Jake reassured her, but she cut him off.

"No, it's not okay!" she exclaimed. "I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you. It's too much, too soon. I can't do this."

"Peyton, calm down, nothing has to happen," he said.

"You're talking about moving back here!" she shouted at him. "It's been great these past few days, Jake, but I can't do this."

She stood and made to move out of the office, but Jake grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him before she could escape. His lips crashed down on hers and she fought him for a second before submitting to his kiss, returning it with equal passion. If he hadn't been holding her so tightly she was sure she would have fallen over. He finally released her and stared at her for a few seconds, kissing her again more gently.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just so scared."

"What is there to be afraid of?" he asked.

"Of losing you again," she admitted. "Of you leaving again. Of all of it."

"Don't worry," he said. "Nikki's out of the picture and I don't expect to hear from her again. Jenny's always wanted to see this town, and I think she'd be happy here. But if you want to just take it slow, we can do that too."

"Remember what happened the last time we tried to take things slowly?" she teased.

"You had to ruin it with that outfit," he reminisced. "Not that I regret it or anything."

"Me neither," she admitted, kissing him again simply because she could. "I don't think I could ever regret any time I spend with you, Jagielski."

"Good," he said, "because I think we'll be spending a lot of time together in the future."

"Then we're agreed," she said.

"Umn-hmn," he said, lifting her face up to his for another kiss. It was chaotic, confusing, and complicated, but it still felt so right between the two of them.


End file.
